Proactive Biocontrol

Dr. Mark Hoddle will discuss the problems caused by invasive species in California. Invasion statistics of importance to California will be discussed along with relevant aspects of invasion biology that drive invasion pathways, establishment likelihood, and subsequent spread after establishment. One important management response is biological control and California is a world leader in this type of pest management. Problems caused by current high profile invaders (e.g., South American palm weevil), and biocontrol programs targeting destructive invasive pests (e.g., Asian citrus psyllid) will be discussed. Finally, a new twist on a classic approach will be presented, "Proactive Biocontrol." A proactive biocontrol program targeting spotted lanternfly, a pest not yet present in California, but one that is likely to establish and cause significant problems for the grape and nut industries will be discussed. One DPR CE unit (other) and one CCA CE unit (IPM) were requested.

Wednesday, Sept 9, 3-4 PM

UC Ag Experts Talk: What's in your Orchard: Protecting California from Invasive Species  REGISTER HERE

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lantern fly life stages

Entomology Association of Southern California Spring Meeting

SAVE THE DATE:  MARCH 4, 2014

The Entomology Association of Southern California will be holding a quarterly meeting at the Los Angeles Arboretum.  These meetings address a variety of entomological related subjects relevant to local and state pest issues and are a great way to meet and share information with other individuals who are interested in this area of science.

Presentations for this meeting will cover:

• California's invasive slugs, future threats & some novel approaches for their control
• Asian Citrus Psyllid research at California Polytechnic University
• County Reports
• Natural history and IPM practices for use against an atypical stink bug, the Bagrada bug
• GIS database of land gastropods of California - native and not

This association has an annual membership fee of $45.  Memberships cover annual registration for all four quarterly meetings in December, March, June and September.

If you are interested in attending:

Date:  March 4, 2014
Time:  8:15 am - 3:00 am (presentations start at 9:00 am
Location:
     Los Angeles Arboretum
     301 North Baldwin Ave.
     Arcadia, CA
Contact:  Dr. Jim Downer, 805-645-1458 or ajdowner@ucanr.edu

See here for the agenda.

Entomological Assocation of S. California Meeting in December

UC Ventura County Cooperative Extension's staff researcher Anna Howell will speak at the next meeting of the Entomological Association of Southern California.  Anna is an experienced entomologist and will talk on "Spider Mites and Their Biological Control in Strawberries."

The event includes other agricultural professionals and UC experts that will provide updates on pests, research and compliance issues.

Date:  Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Time:  9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Location:

     Los Angeles County Arboetum and Botanic Garden
     301 N. Baldwin Ave.
     Arcadia, CA  91007

Registration at the door.

Contact:  Jim Downer, 805-645-1458

Learn more about the Entomological Association of Southern California here.

Predatory Wasp Weapon to Fight Asian Citrus Psyllid

The Asian Citrus Psyllid has been responsible for destroying thousands of acres of citrus in Florida with devastating results to the state's citrus growing counties.  The insect has spread to California and many Southern California counties have imposed full quarantines after the psyllid was found at several sites.  The threat to California's $2-billion citrus industry is serious.

Once a tree has been infected by the psyllid that carries and transfers the huanglongbing (HLB) bacteria to the tree there has been no alternative but to quarantine the infected area and destroy the tree.  To complicate the issue further, the disease can lie dormant and be difficult to detect as the infection spreads from tree to tree.

Efforts to control the psyllid through pesticides have been ineffective and while quarantines have helped raise awareness and slowed some of the spread, a viable weapon to combat this invasive pest has been unavailable until recently.

Mark Hoddle, director at the Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside, has been experimenting with a tiny parasitic wasp, Tamarixia radiata, that feeds on and kills the psyllid.  After a series of tightly controlled and successful tests, the wasps have been released on infected sites and have been effective in reducing the psyllid population.  There is no danger to pets or humans and the release program has been approved by the Department of Agriculture.

Although the results are promising, it's still too early to know the magnitude of the wasp's potential to effectively address this problem and more years of data will be required to assess it.  On the bright side, the use of the Tamarixia radiata wasp does provide a line of defense against this threat to citrus trees in the state.

To learn more about this effort, please see the UC Riverside Newsroom article.

Strawberry Disorders Website Launched

UC Ventura County Cooperative Extension advisor Dr. Oleg Daugovish has collaborated with UC strawberry authorities in the state to create a new website devoted to helping growers and pest control advisors diagnose disorders in strawberry plants.  UC's Mark Bolda, Surendra Dara, Steve Koike and Kirk Larsen contribute their expertise in strawberries, plant pathology and pomology.

The website explores chemical injury, nutritional disorders, physical and physiological disorders found in the field and during research.  The team collaborates and shares information about these issues and discuss methods for dealing with them.

The website is presented in English and in Spanish and is accompanied by large photos that focus on the problem areas.

Check out the new website:  Strawberry Disorders:  Identification and Management.

Read more